Quinn Emanuel Wins Key Appellate Order for Express Scripts in Opioid Litigation
Quinn Emanuel won a key appellate order for pharmacy benefits manager Express Scripts at the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, securing mandamus relief to overturn a ruling that had allowed hundreds of new lawsuits against our client in the opioid multidistrict litigation.
While the litigation continues at the district court, the appellate order, issued on October 2 by a unanimous three-judge panel of the court, earned runner-up recognition for the Quinn Emanuel team in Law.com’s Litigator of the Week honors. The team was led by Jonathan Cooper, Michael Lyle, Lisa Geary, and Tara MacNeill.
The appeals court focused on Rule 16 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The rule required the district court to examine each plaintiff’s awareness of claims against the pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) in the litigation, which includes Optum Rx as well. The court is also required to scrutinize every plaintiff’s diligence in pursuing its claims, before finding good cause to permit amended complaints after the deadline.
The ruling concerns about 800 plaintiffs that sought to add claims against the PBMs years after that deadline. The plaintiffs include state and local governments, schools, hospitals, and other parties.
The 6th Circuit held that the lower court erred in letting the plaintiffs revise their complaints without the specific scrutiny of each claimant that Rule 16 demands.